Anthony Pettis vs Jose Aldo May Not Be Happening After All

Jose Aldo successfully defended the UFC featherweight title for the eighth time defeating Ricardo Lamas in the co-main event on Saturday night at UFC 169. During the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White stated that Aldo vs lightweight champion Anthony Pettis for the title would be next and Aldo would have to vacate his title. It seems like though Aldo’s camp has already changed their stance.

In an interview with Ta na Area in Brazil, Aldo’s manager Andre Pederneiras stated that Aldo wants to keep his title and have the fight with Pettis take place at a catchweight of 150 pounds.

“Now we have to decided in which weight division this fight is going to happen, if Pettis is coming down, like he once said he would do (for UFC 163), but didn’t due to an injury, if Aldo will move up, or if it’s going to be (a catchweight) at 150 pounds”, Pederneiras said.

“(A catchweight) would be interesting for both, they would keep the belts and do the fight everybody wants to see. Nobody wants to take the other’s title, we want to see the fight and do a great show for everybody. Aldo would move up a little, Pettis cuts a little, and it’s good for everybody.”

Pettis’ manager Mike Roberts told MMAFighting.com that’s not what he was told and if Aldo doesn’t want to fight for the title, then Pettis will move on.

“It’s not an option that was given to us,” Roberts said. “[The UFC] wants the fight at 155 pounds.”

“The way we understand it is that Aldo doesn’t want give up his featherweight title, so fighting Pettis is not an option at this point.

“We’re interested in Anthony defending his belt against the top guys at 155. If Aldo doesn’t want to fight for the belt, we’ll fight someone else.”

About Steve Muehlhausen

Steven was a featured UFC columnist for Bleacher Report and a writer for MMASucka.com. He was also the host of the MMA show "The Fight Club Chicago" which aired for three years at various websites. You can email Steve at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com.